Foot protector



y 1959 A. RABINOWITZ 2,896,339

FOOT PROTECTOR Filed Feb. 28, 1955s INVENTOR A71 sever Fflfi/A/OW/TZ' ATTORNEY United States Patent FOOT PROTECTOR 'Albert Rabin'owitz, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application February 28, 1955, Serial No. "490,847

1 Claim. (CI. 36-10) This invention relates to ladies footwear and more particularly to thin knitted foot coverings commonly known as foot protectors worn on the feet in lieu of stockings, hosiery or the like, to avoid the discomfort of bare skin in contact with the shoe.

Foot protectors have come into common use, particularly in conjunction with summer or sports footwear, when the usual hosiery or stockings are dispensed with. Heretofore in articles of this general character, it has been customary to provide only one seam at the center of the heel and only one seam at the top of the toe. In many cases, this has been a serious disadvantage and a cause of discomfort to the wearer. Furthermore, such seams are conspicuous when open-toe and open-heel shoes are Worn.

Thus, a primary object of the present invention is to provide a foot protector which can be made from a single pattern of knitted fabric and which completely eliminates the use of seams in the finished product.

A further advantage of the present construction embodying a seamless foot protector resides in economy of manufacture inasmuch as the usual seaming steps are eliminated.

It is also an object of this invention to make the foot protector of knitted elastic fabric of the type known to the trade under the name Helanea. This fabric stretches in all directions thus making it possible not only for a manufacturer of the foot protector to supply his trade with a lesser number of sizes, but also for the retailer to stock a lesser number of sizes and yet meet all of the user requirements. It is possible with a foot protector formed of this fabric to provide a single size to fit all normal sizes of feet. Thus, with the seamless foot protector of the present invention formed of the aforesaid material an improved foot protector is provided which presents a neat appearance on the foot, insures a proper fit and eliminates any discomforts due to the presence of seams.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description of a pre ferred embodiment thereof taken in connection with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the foot protector in place on the foot of a wearer;

Figure 2 is a similar view showing it when olf the foot and partially collapsed; and

Figure 3 is a top plan view of a blank out of which the article may be made.

Referring to Figure 3, it will be noted that the blank ?atented July 28, 1959 10 has a continuous contour without any cutouts. The sides of the blank, indicated by numerals 11 and 12, are cut slightly inwardly while the back edge 13 is substantially straight but with a slight convexity to eliminate any excess material at the sides and heel when the foot protector is formed. The front of the blank is cut to form a slight point to provide additional material for the toe portion of the protector.

After the flat pattern shown in Figure 3 is cut, elastic 15 is stitched around the perimeter of the entire protector to provide the shape shown in Figure 2. Due to the pointed portion 14, the toe 17 provides a greater width than the heel portion 16 thus indicating the front of the foot protector.

When the foot protector is drawn on the foot of the wearer, as indicated in Figure l, the various portions thereof are resiliently extended and manipulated to conform to the foot and will thus provide a snug and comfortable fit on the foot.

The protector described above is quickly and inexpensively manufactured from a single flat pattern and provides substantial improvement in comfort and appearance. While I have described a preferred embodiment, it will be readily understood that minor changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described the invention, What is claimed is:

A blank for an expansible foot protector comprising an elongated single piece of highly elastic textile material symmetrical about its longitudinal axis, the perimeter of said blank comprising smoothly-continuous merging edges, said merging edges including side edge portions slightly concave from end to end thereof and each merging outwardly at its rear end into a blunt convex rear corner continuing into a transverse rear edge portion having a very slight concavity, each of said side edge portions merging outwardly at its forward end into a blunt convex forward corner continuing into a forwardly extending blunt toe portion terminating on the longitudinal axis of said blank in a slightly pointed portion, the transverse maximum width across said rear corners being less than the maximum transverse width across said forward corners and greater than the minimum transverse width across said side edge portions, whereby an elastic cord secured at and continuously around the perimeter of said blank will draw the edges thereof together to form a continuous seamless foot-enclosing portion conforming smoothly and closely to the natural contour of those portions of a users foot normally subject to chafing when a shoe is worn and providing an expansible opening into which the users foot may be readily inserted.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 988,159 Wiltse Mar. 28, 1911 1,494,653 Walters May 20, 1924 1,727,586 Condon Sept. 10, 1929 2,038,844 Le Dorf Apr. 28, 1936 2,628,438 Luchs Feb. 17, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 78,150 Austria Sept. 10, 1929 

